Santa Monica Daily Press, November 22, 2005

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2005

Volume 5, Issue 8

Santa Monica Daily Press A newspaper with issues

Water cleanup a contentious task

DAILY LOTTERY SUPER LOTTO 4 5 15 32 42 Meganumber: 2 Jackpot: $13 Million

Who gets what from new water treatment plant will be decided in court

FANTASY 5 9 23 25 27 32

DAILY 3 Daytime: Evening:

296 972

DAILY DERBY 1st: 2nd: 3rd:

12 Lucky Charms 01 Gold Rush 09 Winning Spirit

RACE TIME:

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NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY

CHUCK

SHEPARD

Neelesh Phadnis, 24, acting as his own lawyer, earned himself a conviction in Seattle in October for killing his parents, in large part (according to a Seattle Times story) because of his defense that the crimes were committed by, first, a gang of 400-pound Samoans, later augmented during his testimony to include their girlfriends, two whites, two blacks, a Native American and a transsexual, and later still, to be described as more than 30 armed Samoans. (They were all slow runners, too, for Phadnis said he outran them all to escape, despite being seriously wounded. When he finally summoned the police, he told the arriving officers that he was too tired and hungry to talk about his parents’ bodies and that they should “go home.”)

TODAY IN HISTORY Today is the 326th day of 2005.

There are 39 days left in the year.

On Nov. 22, 1963, President Kennedy was shot to death while riding in a motorcade in Dallas. Texas Gov. John B. Connally, in the same limousine as Kennedy, was seriously wounded.

Suspect Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested.

In 1928, “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel made its debut in Paris.

In 1906, the “SOS” distress signal was adopted at the International Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin.

INDEX Horoscopes Mosey on home, Gem

2

Surf Report Water temperature: 63°

3

Opinion American Thanksgiving

4

Mommy Pages Making a rules chart

10

State California in brief

12

National Cheney has Bush’s back

14

Comics Strips tease

16

Eviction sale

(Editor’s note: This is one article in a multi-part series that follows the ongoing legal fees dispute between City Hall and three prominent law firms that represented it in its water contamination case against oil companies.

On Monday, the Daily Press outlined the details of the case.)

BY CAROLYN SACKARIASON Daily Press Staff Writer

CITY HALL — When officials here sued the oil industry for contaminating Santa Monica’s water supply in 1996, they never dreamed three major oil companies would agree to pay for and build a new water treatment plant.

Now at issue is how much that plant will be worth and to how much of it City Hall’s outside attorneys are entitled.

In the landmark settlement, agreed to in November of 2003, the oil companies admitted to their role in contaminating five of the city’s 11 drinking water wells by allowing methyl tertiary-butyl ether, a gasoline additive, to seep into the groundwater. They agreed to settle the lawsuits rather than go to court, paying City Hall more than $120 million. Shell, ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil also agreed to pay for the design, construction and maintenance of a water-treatment plant at Charnock Well Field, the city’s main water source, located in West Los Angeles.

City Hall might have been victorious in its battle with the oil companies and its goal of securing clean water, but how much of that money has to be paid to the contingency lawyers who represented the city remains unclear. The two sides are in the midst of a bitter legal battle over how much the contingency lawyers are entitled to in fees from the settlement. They are set for a jury trial in February.

What city officials didn’t bank on was having to pay the contingency lawyers who represented

Fabian Lewkowicz/Daily Press Brian Yaeger, a tenant at 125 Pacific St., takes part in an ‘eviction sale’ this past weekend. Yaeger has been living at 125 for more than two years and is currently looking for a new apartment. All tenants were served eviction notices this past summer after they were unsuccessful in convincing elected leaders that their home was a historic landmark. The City Council in July approved the demolition of the Christie Courtyard so the owner can put up condos.

LOCAL

Rent Control Board sides with landlord

BY RYAN HYATT Daily Press Staff Writer

SMMUSD HDQTRS. — A Santa Monica tenant last week was told to take a hike after a recent rent-control dispute, during which the parties involved accused each other of lying.

After a dramatic display of testimony, the Rent Control Board (RCB) last Thursday favored landlord Douglas Emmett & Co. regarding tenants Alvin and Auna Perry.

An attorney for Emmett — one of Santa Monica’s largest property management firms — argued the Perrys used their Shores apartment as a second

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BY JASMIN PERSCH Special to the Daily Press

CITY HALL — Elected leaders are expected to approve spending $11.7 million tonight to seismically retrofit City Hall, supply computers to the new Main Library, and repair roads and gutters.

The largest expense — $9.7 million — will pay for annual touch-ups to city streets.

Resurfacing alone costs more than $6 million. Other improve-

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Gutters on San Vicente Boulevard at Ocean Avenue will see improvements also. City Hall included this provision in the project to save money by using the same contractor, city staff said.

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Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press

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JACQUELINE BIGAR’S STARS The stars show the kind of day you’ll Have: ★★★★★-Dynamic ★★★★-Positive ★★★-Average ★★-So-so ★-Difficult

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LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) ★★★★ You have a strong sense of direction, but could be thrown off by a situation you have to deal with. Though you would like to act quickly, the smart action is to slow down. If you have time, talk to key advisers. Tonight: Find your friends.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20) ★★★ At this point, you would be wise to pull back and disappear. Others seem bossy, and ideas could change very rapidly. You might want to rethink your perspective in the next few months. Tonight: Mosey on home.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) ★★★ You might want to rethink your work and career choices. Others might have difficulty with a parent or a community item. Take your time making a decision. Look at the longterm. Tonight: Talk through a hassle.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20) ★★★★ You will tend to say exactly what you think, whether others want to hear it or not.

Check into a money venture with care, but do not commit or be conned. Do much more research.

Others seek you out. Tonight: Go along with the program.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) ★★★ The Sun enters your sign today, christening your birthday period. Still, you might not be as sure of yourself as you would like to be.

Take your time making a decision that involves a partner and/or finances. Tonight: Spend time with a loved one.

CANCER (June 21-July 22) ★★★ Investigate what is happening within a relationship. Approach the situation slowly and diplomatically. You want this person to feel at ease. Your daily routine demands attention.

Concentrate on this area of your life. Tonight: Accept an invitation out.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) ★★ You could easily feel out of sorts, as your ruler goes retrograde today. Some of you might have been feeling this funky energy for a while. Once more, consider your priorities and long-term desires in the next few months.

Tonight: Time out with a good friend.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) ★★★★ Though the Moon is in your sign and your smile can melt away problems, you will still need to deal with others. You are also going to feel different from how you’ve felt in the past few months. Note any unusual happenings in the next few days. Tonight: Do what is good for you.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) ★★★★ Others seek you out but might have some difficulty expressing themselves or might be negative. People are dealing with a key retrograde today, though by looking at you, one would never know it. Tonight: Hang out with an easygoing person.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) ★★ Something, maybe an insight, comes from out of the blue. You might want to slow down in order to absorb this information and its implications. Don’t worry about being high-energy. Contemplation might be instrumental.

Tonight: Slow down.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) ★★★★ What you thought was a sure deal could fall apart. You might find that others simply change their minds, or a flub-up could force you to rethink a project. Work with the energy rather than fight it. Tonight: Find a way to relax.

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ARIES (March 21-April 19) ★★★ Not that anything bad or significant needs to happen, but the planets are certainly rocking and rolling today. For example, the planet that has dumped responsibilities on you left and right goes retrograde. Finally, you get a break. Tonight: Look to the long-term.

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Santa Monica Daily Press

Published Monday through Saturday Phone: (310) 458-PRESS (7737) • Fax: (310) 576-9913 1427 Third Street Promenade, Ste. #202 • Santa Monica, CA 90401 • www.smdp.com PUBLISHER Ross Furukawa . . . . . . . . .ross@smdp.com

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Santa Monica Daily Press

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Page 3

LOCAL

SURF REPORT

SM woman dies after being struck by car

By Daily Press staff

A Santa Monica woman died Monday after suffering injuries in a traffic collision on Sunday.

The woman’s identity hasn’t been released pending notification of family.

She was 79 years old.

At about 5:20 p.m., Santa Monica Police responded to the intersection of 21st Street and Broadway Avenue regard-

In SoCal, most west-facing breaks are seeing waist- to chesthigh sets, shoulder high on the better set waves at standouts.

South-facing breaks are running waist high, plus.

On Tuesday, we have some SW from the southern hemisphere, angled from around 200 degrees from a New Zealand-originating system. This should help south-facing breaks see waist- to possibly chest-high sets. NW energy is looking week, around knee to waist.

ing a traffic collision involving a vehicle and a pedestrian.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the vehicle was traveling eastbound on Broadway and struck the woman who was crossing within the crosswalk at Broadway and 21st Street. She was transported to a local hospital. The driver of the vehicle, a Glendora resident, was interviewed at the scene and released pending further investigation. The cause of the collision is under investigation.

Governor Schwarzenegger appointed on Monday a Santa Monica woman to help lead the state’s travel and tourism industry.

Gillian Zucker, 36, has been appointed to the Travel and Tourism Commission.

She is the president of the California Speedway and was previously vice presi-

dent of business operations and development for Daytona International Speedway from 2001 to 2005, as well as vice president of operational development for the Kansas Speedway. She is a member of the Los Angeles Sports Council. The position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no salary. Zucker is registered decline-to-state.

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Helping through haircuts

By Daily Press staff

Are you a hair stylist and want to help someone this Thanksgiving?

For the past 18 years, a group of Westside churches and organizations have hosted Thanksgiving feasts to feed; distribute clothing, blankets and hygiene essentials; and give haircuts to more than 23,000 people in the Santa Monica community.

Especially needed are state-licensed stylists as volunteers for Thanksgiving Day. Shifts start at 9 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m.

Thanksgiving dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, located at 1855 Main St. For more information or to volunteer your time, call (310) 394-3153.

Pancakes anyone?

By Daily Press staff

A group of young Red Cross volunteers wants to make you breakfast this upcoming weekend.

The youth services division of the American Red Cross of Santa Monica will host a pancake breakfast, Saturday, Nov. 26, from 7 a.m. until noon.

A breakfast of eggs, homemade pancakes, sausage, bacon and an assortment of hot and cold beverages will cost only $5 at the Santa Monica Red Cross chapter, located at 1450 11th St. at Broadway in Santa Monica.

The chefs in the kitchen will consist of youth volunteers affiliated with the chapSee BRIEFS, page 8

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Some local skaters recently have voiced frustra4 tions over the limited weekday hours of operation at EST. 193 the new $550,000 skate park, the Cove, located at the corner of Olympic Boulevard and 14th Street.

The park, typically open about two hours a day during the week, is not equipped with lighting, meaning skaters have to pack it up once the sun goes down.

Rediscover The Galley’s genuine City officials say they’d like to be able to give resservice while experiencing our new idents more access to the park but the current budweekend brunch served on our get does not provide for the needed staffing.

So this week, Q-Line wants to know, “How can beautiful outdoor patio.

City Hall increase access for residents to the new Serving Brunch from 11AM-4PM skatepark without putting a strain on its budget?”

Full Bar-Best Bloody Mary’s in Santa Monica Call (310) 285-8106 before Friday at 5 p.m. and we’ll print your responses in the weekend edition.

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Santa Monican appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger

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Today the water Is:

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Page 4

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press

OPINION

Thanksgiving: Only true American holiday WHAT’S THE POINT?

BY DAVID PISARRA

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Fed up with church goers Editor: I am a resident who pays property taxes, Santa Monica city fees, community college assessments, unified school assessments, etc. My work hours and commute prevents me from being home anytime before 7 p.m. during the week.

I am 5 foot, 2 inches tall, weigh 115 pounds (OK, I lied, I weigh 120 pounds).

With my stature, I find it frightening and very dangerous to be walking two and three blocks from where I reside to get home on dark, unlit streets because I cannot find parking on my street due to the activities at the Unitarian Church.

I am even more upset to find out that most of these evening and odd-hour activities are “renters” of the church facilities so that the church may profit from them.

Am I to risk my safety and well-being to walk on dark, unlit streets for blocks at a time so that the church can profit from their renters?

With groups of 60 to 70 people, the parking is non-existent for three to four blocks at a time.

I ask every council member how they would feel if this was happening to them, or a wife or daughter. I have nothing against the activities of the church — so long as it does not put my safety and well-being at risk. Therefore, I find it an absolute requirement that parking be provided by the church for their visitors regardless of the circumstances.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter, and I truly hope that the council members will make the correct decision in reversing the waiver of providing parking by the church that the Planning Commission so wrongly approved.

Nicolette Schwartz Santa Monica

The de-Christianizing of Los Angeles Editor: Hasta la vista, Santa Monica.

This business of de-Christmasing the holiday season‚ because it might (or does) offend a few is silly.

What’s next? De-Christianizing the words we use daily? Like, perhaps, Los Angeles (the Angels). Hmmm, angels are a Christian concept — better change the name to something more inoffensive, like “Big City.”

OK, so now we all live in Big City County, but what about Santa (Saint) Monica itself? Any suggestions for a non-offensive name to replace it? Big City’s already been taken, and besides, we’re not that big. Perhaps the “The City Next to the Pacific Ocean‚” or something like that.

Remember, the sports teams (Saints, Angels, etc.) would be affected, too. “The Big City Baseball Team of Anaheim” just doesn’t seem right somehow.

And what would this paper look like with its banner changed to “The City Next to the Pacific Ocean Daily Press?”

Think about it.

P.S. I do agree that the “In God We Trust” slogan on our money should probably be replaced by something more up-to-date and accurate like “In Greed We Trust.”

Ken McCrae Santa Monica OPINIONS EXPRESSED are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the Santa Monica Daily Press staff.

Guest editorials from residents are encouraged, as are letters to the editor. Letters will be published on a space-available basis.

It is our intention to publish all letters we receive, except those that are libelous or are unsigned. Preference will be given to those that are e-mailed to editor@smdp.com. All letters must include the author’s name and telephone number for purposes of verification. Letters also may be mailed to our offices located at 1427 Third Street Promenade, Suite 202, Santa Monica, 90401, or faxed to (310) 576-9913. All letters and guest editorials are subject to editing for space and content.

Thanksgiving is here again. It is a timely reminder that life is short, glory is fleeting and time marches on.

Thanksgiving is such an archetypal American event. It brings us together and does so without the need for God, religion, sermons, race-based distinctions, gender issues or any other divider. It is a holiday devoted to being thankful for the plenty in our life.

It is not a day that has been co-opted by the religious zealots, the politicians, or those chasing their 15 minutes of fame. It has been taken over, however, by the foodies — but we’re an easy-to-get-alongwith bunch, unless you’re a chef.

This coming Thursday the entire nation will collectively sit down and relax. We’ll eat too much, drink too much and put aside our differences to recognize that in this country, we have more of everything.

I love Thanksgiving precisely because it is a day that everyone can partake in without fear of feeling like they don’t belong. You never have the fights in the City Council over whether or not the annual Thanksgiving display should be put up in the park. There is no question about whether or not it violates the U.S. Constitution as an unlawful mixing of church and state.

Thanksgiving stands for all that is American. Equality. Freedom. Community.

Around the country families will be putting on feasts, inviting people they barely know to come over and enjoy their own brand of hospitality and sharing. This is what this country is capable of.

Together we achieve, if only for a day, what is the very best of our country.

I attended college across from the U.S. Naval Academy at a very liberal, open minded, peace and freedom, retro-hippie school for lost and broken children. We were the social rejects in high school who outscored the jocks on the SATs and made friend with the teachers.

The mid-shipmen were a brainy bunch, athletic but geeky. Handsome and romantic in their uniforms, yet still unsure of themselves and their role in the world. At first blush they should not get along with the hippy-dippy, philosophy reading students of my college. Yet, frequently there was more in common than not amongst us.

At Thanksgiving one year I was invited to a co-worker’s home along with five or eight mid-shipmen. As we spent the day together, sharing stories of our life in the

way that youths who still have that starry eyed naiveté do, we were all one people.

We were Americans.

That is the point of Thanksgiving to me.

It’s a day that celebrates our commonality.

It brings us together as a nation without any of the divisive rancor and anger that so permeates the religious holidays.

As we approach Thanksgiving this year, let’s just stop for a moment to look at how easy it is for us to really be an undivided country. When we want to, we can do it.

And it doesn’t take a national disaster, which really doesn’t work. Look how quickly we forgot about the hurricane victims. And it shouldn’t take an attack on our soil by a foreign terrorist or government.

All it really takes is for us to invite someone we don’t know so well to come enjoy a little hospitality, share some stories of our lives and be open. It doesn’t matter if you invite someone who is of a different race, creed or economic background — the goal should be to find the most diverse people you can.

This year we’re hosting a party and having Republicans and Democrats, Jews and gentiles, straights and gays, couples and singles, meat lovers and vegetarians, dog people and cat people, fat people and skinny people, couch potatoes and health nuts. And the one thing they all have in common is being American.

We have much to be thankful for this year. As Californians, we live in a wonderful state that allows us the opportunity to become who or what we want. We have a city with more than abundant food and clean water, electricity and freedom. We have access to a world of cultures just outside our doorway.

I like to say, “This is America; we have more of everything.” I mean that. We have more food, more freedom, more tolerance, more cultures than any other place on earth. We are the “great experiment,” and it’s going well.

This Thanksgiving, you probably won’t have time in between the football games and yelling at the kids to reflect on where we live, on who we are and how we have more than many. Today take a break and look at your life and the life of someone who you think is opposite to you.

As I did many years ago with a group of mid-shipman, you’ll likely find you have more in common than you want to believe. But in many ways, that’s the real point of Thanksgiving — to see our points of agreement.

That, and to help the cranberry industry.

(David Pisarra is a business development lawyer in the Santa Monica firm of Pisarra & Grist. He welcomes your questions and comments. He can be reached at dpisarra@pisarra.com or 310-664-9969.)

Tell Santa Monica what you think! ...write a letter to the editor Email to: editor@smdp.com or fax 310.576.9913

Santa Monica DailyPress

Santa Monica Daily Press

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Page 5

COMMENTARY

ANY DAY IN LA

BY HEIDI MANTEUFFEL

(Heidi can be reached at anydayinla@gmail.com.)

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Some might call me a simple person, and you would be right. For I only have three loves in this life that I feel like telling you about right now — people, pugs and food.

Except the last one is a tricky relationship, because the object of my affection keeps disappearing into my lower intestines.

You may think I’m a little off the mark, but anyone that’s been around me for breakfast, dinner, snack one, two or three can tell you that I’m head over heels with food.

For instance, how many people can you count on one hand who kiss their food?

It’s true, I used to look on at a cinnamon twist or apple fritter in my teen years with complete affection and devotion, giving it a quick yet heartfelt peck. Soon after, though, I’d quickly devour it.

But like a good wine I’ve matured with age, I think. Because now, when the object of my affection comes into my sight, my eyes light up spastically and I emit a noise of pure glee.

I’m not referring to seeing my boyfriend, I’m talking about the arrival of Denny’s slim slam to my breakfast table.

It’s a culinary masterpiece consisting of breathtaking scrambled eggs, fried ham and fluffy buttermilk pancakes drizzled with syrup and blueberry topping.

Mmm… But I like my boyfriend a lot, too. I like that he takes me to Denny’s and other places that host the seven gastronomic wonders of the world. Dr. Hoggly Woggly’s and Pizza Hut are definitely on the list.

As you might notice, my taste hasn’t really changed much over the years. At 6

years old, my mom created the Good Manners Club (GMC), not to be confused with Kiwanis or Rotary. In GMC, the acronym I fondly just made up, you earned gold stars by using your fork and keeping your scabby elbows off the table.

Twenty stars would earn you a trip to a fine dining restaurant of your devising.

My sister would pick Mill Race Inn and other chi chi restaurants where a family’s meal cost as much as a wool knit sweater.

My imagination invariably led me to same final, magical destination — McDonald’s.

Guess who mom let pick dinner more often?

If I want you to take anything from this, please remember that I like food. I like eating it, making it, and on the weekends I even take long walks with it. I don’t usually whisper sweet nothings into my frozen yogurt’s ear, though. That would be crossing the line.

I go to bed thinking about what I’m going to have for breakfast the next day, and have dreams where I’m eating layered fudge cake while I wait to wake up. The best part is, I don’t have to feel bad about eating it.

Not only that, but when I start to get hungry, everyday objects occasionally start to morph into food. A light bulb can look like a Twinkie, a hubcap like Oreos.

Sometimes my roommate strikingly resembles a chocolate éclair.

But I don’t usually eat light bulbs.

When it gets to that point, I’ll break out a Little Debbie cupcake, and street lamps go back to street lamps instead of Dracula Pez dispensers.

I know there are places for people like me who have grown a little too fond of food. But the food court really isn’t the worst place to be, especially when those Philly cheese steak sandwiches and freshly squeezed lemonade are quickly at your disposal.

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Page 6

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press

LOCAL 01590548

BILL JONES — 1942-2005

Former Santa Monica journalist dies

By Daily Press staff

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Bill Jones, a former Santa Monica newspaper reporter who cut his teeth here covering the entertainment industry has died. He was 63.

When Jones was a cub reporter in Santa Monica, urban sprawl and road rage were unknown. But Hollywood was burgeoning with talented young actors, writers and directors.

Jones would eventually interview them all. He also painted watercolors of many movie stars, and had several one-man shows combining his interviews with his portraits.

In his career’s beginning during the late 1960s and early ’70s, Jones walked the beat as police reporter and entertainment writer for the now defunct Santa Monica Evening News. He cut his reviewer’s teeth at studio screenings, crafting lively articles about the actors, directors and screenwriters of the last half of the 20th Century.

Subjects ranged from Jimmy Stewart and Douglas Fairbanks Jr., to Fred Astaire and Lillian Gish. Later interviews featured Dustin Hoffman, Shirley MacLaine, Warren Beatty, Robert DeNiro, Barbra Streisand, Meryl Streep and all the upand-coming “young turks.” He particularly enjoyed his interviews with directors, including Robert Altman, Sam Peckinpah and Martin Scorsese. And he interviewed major entertainment figures, including Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Sammy Davis Jr. and Cher.

After a two-year battle with esophageal cancer, William Dennis “Bill” Jones died Nov. 12 at his home on the desert in Phoenix.

Born June 11, 1942, Jones called California his adopted home for sevenplus years. His oldest son, Christopher, was born in Santa Monica, and Jones fondly recalled the charms and excitement of Hollywood and Santa Monica of nearly 40 years ago.

He was raised in Phoenix, the only son of Marshall Woodrow Jones and Katie Price Jones, and middle child between sisters Marcia and Karen.

As Jones and his writing matured, he began making regular trips to the Los Angeles area. He penned his first novel there. During his long tenure as chief film critic of the southwest’s largest newspaper, he made weekly jaunts to California and New York, filing 200 movie reviews per year for the Phoenix Gazette and Arizona Republic, and becoming an adept watercolor and oil painter.

After high school in Phoenix, he joined the U.S. Army Airborne and served two and a half years mostly in Korea, where his good looks and height garnered him honor guard status and an appointment as driver for the general’s wife.

After leaving the LA area, Jones completed college at Clarion State University in Pennsylvania. He and wife Donna Walter returned to Phoenix where a second son, Jason, was born.

Besides his stint at the Santa Monica paper, Jones’ prolific career included arts reporting at the Mesa Tribune and many years at both the Phoenix Gazette and Arizona Republic, from which he retired in 1997. Jones traveled the world with his final wife, Christene Cosgriffe Meyers, and the two wrote many articles for national magazines and newspapers. He had a string of one-man painting shows in Arizona and Montana, his second home.

His art hangs in private and public collections, and his sports portraits are owned by both the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks.

He is survived by his musician and writer wife, Christene, “Cookie” Meyers; his two sons and their wives, Jason and Katie Jones and Christopher and Carole Jones; and two grandchildren, Rowan Christopher Jones and Haley Elizabeth Jones; sisters- and brothers-in-law Marcia and Victor Burnett and Karen and Bob Link; nephews, and mother-in-law Ellen Cosgriffe of Montana.

Two memorial celebrations are planned for family, friends and colleagues on Saturday, Dec. 3, at the couple’s home in Ahwatukee on the desert preserve, and June 11, his birthday, at High Chaparral, in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana.

Several Hollywood writers and directors including filmmaker Joe Rassulo will be at the services.

Memorials may be made in Jones’ name to Actors Theater, P.O. Box 1924, Phoenix, Ariz., 85001.

Santa Monica Daily Press

LOCAL

City wants clean water, lawyers want cash from treatment plant MTBE, from page 1

them a percentage of the cost of a treatment plant. City Hall argues it should pay the attorneys on the value of the plant, which is yet to be determined. The attorneys argue they should be paid on the cost and operation of the plant, which could be significantly higher than its value.

“We believe there is a substantial difference between what the fair market value of a plant that has never built and what the costs of operating it is,” said David Halbreich, an attorney with Morgan Lewis & Bockius, the law firm representing City Hall against the contingency lawyers.

“The costs versus the fair market value is what is at issue,” he added. “They think those costs are much higher than what we think.”

The treatment plant will become obsolete after Santa Monica’s water is cleaned up and therefore worth nothing monetarily, city officials argue. What’s more, the technology used to clean the water hasn’t been determined, so a pricetag hasn’t been established.

Because the legal services agreement between City Hall and the law firms of Texas-based Baron & Budd, Sacramentobased Miller & Sawyer and San Francisco-based Sher & Leff is vague and ambiguous regarding a non-cash recovery, it’s open for interpretation on whether or not the lawyers should be paid on the value of the plant or the cost of building and operating it.

The problem is that the agreement doesn’t include a provision for a public works project — specifically a water treatment facility. And because the agreement is ambiguous and open for interpretation — as most legal documents are — the words “and” and “or” relating to fee percentages for the contingency lawyers could mean millions of dollars.

“Does ‘or’ mean ‘or’ or does it mean ‘and’?” said an attorney close to the case who didn’t want to be identified. “A great deal of money is at stake by that definition.”

But it does include a provision for a “non-cash settlement.” And according to the agreement, an appraiser must be selected to determine the value of the plant. That appraisal process was agreed upon by both sides and the court approved it.

A panel has been formed that includes a host of experts, including Rhodes Trussell, a Pasadena-based hydrology engineer, to appraise the value of the plant

and what technology could be used to clean up Santa Monica’s water.

Hearings have been held on the appraisal process, which included expert testimony from witnesses and evidence brought forth from research.

Based on the appraiser’s preliminary findings, a recent report has indicated that the plant could be valued at about $120 million. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Minning will review the appraisal, and both sides will then file opinions on its recommendations. The second phase will determine the fair market value of the plant. Then it will be designed and built.

City attorneys argue that it’s not fair to the public to pay fees on a speculative value of a plant, which at one point was determined to be $300 million by a trial judge in the middle of the litigation between City Hall and the oil companies as part of a good faith hearing.

But now that another valuation of the plant is underway that appears to put the appraisal much lower than originally suggested, the fee dispute between the two sides will remain horrifically complicated and contentious.

And because the technology to clean up Santa Monica’s drinking water hasn’t been chosen, the value of a plant could be a moot point anyway.

Scientists at the University of California-Davis may have discovered a much more cost-effective way to clean up contaminated water — a bacterial microbe strain that eats MTBE, leaving behind only carbon dioxide.

Employing microorganisms instead of a building a massive treatment plant that would use an advanced oxidation system, for example, could save millions of dollars, officials say.

Meanwhile, city engineers are looking at the most cost-effective technology to clean up the water and have hired a consultant to come up with a preliminary design for a treatment facility. If such a facility is built, it’s expected to be operational by 2008.

But no one wants it when it’s done — not the oil companies, not City Hall and not the contingency lawyers. The lawyers want the monetary value of it, and City Hall, which currently is importing water from outside sources, wants safe drinking water for its residents.

“It has little or no value when (the plant) is done,” said Craig Perkins, director of City Hall’s environmental and public works department. “What’s of value is the clean water.”

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Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Page 7

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❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press

LOCAL

Both sides accused each other of lying RCB, from page 1

unit’s address. Michele Perry signed and submitted the checks to the landlord to pay the rent, although the account was actually her father’s, according to city records.

Michele Perry married Steve Garber in 1993. She and her husband continued to live in the apartment until a few years later, when they bought a home in Woodland Hills, where Michele Garber’s parents also lived and owned a home, according to last week’s testimony.

The Garbers didn’t inform the landlord they moved out. Instead, the Perrys began using the unit as a weekend residence, according to city records. Steve Garber continued to pay the rent from the same account Michele once did, but he signed Michele’s name, not his, according to testimony.

When repairs were needed, Alvin Perry, the new occupant, would sign his daughter’s name on the written requests, according to city records. Since Michele Garber’s departure, all correspondence with the landlord was drafted by Alvin Perry and signed by him using his daughter’s name, according to city records.

When Alvin Perry telephoned the landlord, he announced himself as Steve

home, qualifying it for a rental increase.

The company even hired a private investigator to prove that the Perrys were using the beachfront apartment as a getaway spot.

Under Santa Monica’s Regulation No. 3304, a rent control law passed in 2003, landlords are able to increase rent when it’s been determined a unit is not the tenant’s primary residence. The law was designed to weed out renters who use their units as second homes, or for office or storage space, according to city records.

The RCB agreed with Emmett’s position. As a result, the Perrys’ rent will likely be increased from $714 to 2,329 per month.

At issue was whether the Shores unit where the Perrys lived occasionally was their primary home. According to the RCB, the evidence showed it wasn’t.

In 1991, Alvin Perry, an attorney and real estate broker, began leasing unit No. 1114 at 2700 Nelison Way for his daughter, Michele Perry, according to city records.

Alvin Perry created a bank account for his daughter with checks reflecting the

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Garber.

Alvin Perry, semi-retired, told the RCB last Thursday that he and his wife’s general schedule was to spend Thursday through Sunday in the apartment and Monday through Wednesday at the Woodland Hills home.

The Woodland Hills home is fully furnished, although several rooms in the house are used as offices, according to city records.

The Perrys’ vehicles are registered in Woodland Hills, where the couple is also registered to vote. Their drivers’ licenses also list the Woodland Hills address. In 2004, when the Perrys refinanced the mortgage on their home, they stated in an occupancy clause that it was their primary residence.

To convince officials the Perrys’ apartment was in fact not their primary residence, Emmett hired a private investigator to monitor their living behavior. The P.I. collected evidence that showed the Perrys were more often in Woodland Hills than in Santa Monica, including over some weekends.

“We have video and photographs of them coming out to get their newspaper in the morning, then returning inside their Woodland Hills home,” said Don

Sherwood, Emmett’s attorney. “It’s clear they are people who have no credibility, and they shouldn’t be believed.”

Alvin Perry, speaking on behalf of himself and his wife, took offense to Sherwood’s remarks and said he felt the landlord’s attempt to scorn was a sad sign of the times.

“It’s a sad day when an investment management company can come in and spy on people,” Alvin Perry said. “My wife and I have been living at the Shores for 10 years, and it’s clear he’s not telling the truth.”

However, RBC commissioners had their own interpretation of the facts, which didn’t favor Perrys’ perspective.

“You’re saying their investigator is lying, when you live in Woodland Hills?” said RCB commissioner Jeffrey Sklar. “If the landlord feels they have to hire a P.I. to get to the facts, (the landlord) will.”

RCB chair Toy Alan also agreed the facts in the case seemed to indicate a different version of the truth than the one Perry attempted to convey.

“It looks like you’ve made a series of mistakes,” Toy said. “However, the preponderance of evidence is against you.

See RCB, page 9

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ter’s youth services division headed by Jerry Washington, the Santa Monica Red Cross’ director of volunteers.

“We urge everyone to come by and fill up before they start their holiday shopping,” Washington said. “Our kids have been practicing their culinary skills all week. Diners will flip when they taste just how good our pancakes are.”

Youth volunteers are between 13 and 18 years old. Profits from money raised at the breakfast will subsidize activities and services for more than 600 participating school-age children and young adults volunteering at the Santa Monica chapter.

Smaller Parties at discounted prices.

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For older citizens, the holidays can be a lonely time if family lives far away.

Area retailers, along with agencies that serve older adults, have joined forces with a local senior care service to deliver gifts and companionship to isolated seniors during the busy holiday season. Last year, more than 53,000 needy seniors throughout North America received gifts as part of the “Be a Santa to a Senior” program.

Home Instead Senior Care is the world’s largest provider of non-medical home care and companionship for older adults who otherwise might not receive a gift this holiday season. The organization will provide presents to Santa Monica Place and the Center for Healthy Aging.

This is the second year of the program. Last year 7,000 volunteers distributed 96,000 gifts to deserving seniors.

“We have been thrilled with the reception and the response to our program both on a local basis as well as nationally,” said Brad Lusk, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care office serving Santa Monica/Culver City. “Be a Santa to a Senior” is more than just a gift-giving project. The program is designed to help stimulate human contact and social interaction for seniors who are unlikely to have guests during the holidays.”

The program began Nov. 1 and will continue until Dec. 15.

Prior to the holiday season, the participating local nonprofit organizations identified needy, orphaned and isolated seniors in the community and provided the names to Home Instead Senior Care for the community service program.

At the Santa Monica Place Mall, holiday shoppers can pick up an ornament — as they did last year from 720 retailers nationally — buy items on a gift list and return them unwrapped to the store, along with the ornament attached. Home Instead Senior Care will then enlist the volunteer help of its staff, senior care business associates, nonprofit workers and others in the community to collect, wrap and distribute the gifts to the seniors.

A citywide gift-wrapping day will be held on Dec. 9 at the WISE Adult Day Care Center from 2 to 5 p.m., and Dec. 13 at the Santa Monica Place Mall from 2 to 5 p.m.

“This program is a way that we can give back to our community by providing gifts and companionship to our area’s older adults who have contributed so much,” Lusk said. “Our goal is to bring a little love and joy of the season into their lives.”

If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering to help on the citywide gift-wrapping day, contact Lusk at (310) 477-8300.

Santa Monica Daily Press

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Page 9

LOCAL

Almost $1M will go to retrofit City Hall CONSENT, from page 1

Paving Co. to complete the various construction refinements, and the company will collect $9.1 million for the job. The construction management company, Caltrop Engineering, will receive $531,000 for overseeing the project.

CITY HALL RETROFIT The City Council also will decide tonight to spend $875,000 to hire a company to design the seismic retrofitting of City Hall.

City staff called for a seismic evaluation of City Hall after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake even though the damage to the building was minor, staff said. The evaluation determined that the structure was not up to code. Construction is scheduled to start spring of 2007 and will include historic preservation and discarding of hazardous material.

City Hall is expected to stay open during the seismic retrofitting, which should take about six to nine months.

City staff will contract with Black and Veatch to design the project, which has an estimated cost of $5 million.

The funding will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which gave City Hall money for damages from the Northridge Earthquake.

ROAD REPAIR Elected leaders are expected to pay $450,000 to a company that will design the construction project on two major thoroughfares in the city — Cloverfield

Boulevard and 20th Street.

The cost estimate of the project is $2.9 million. It includes street and sidewalk repairs, as well as light installments to make the high-traffic area between the I10 and Pico Boulevard safer, city staff said.

Amphion Environmental Inc. will be contracted to design the construction project that begins fall of 2007.

LIBRARY COMPUTER CARE The company providing computers to the new Main Library will get paid $240,000 to procure them.

Gateway Companies Inc. has a fouryear contract with the city for $1.8 million that includes computers, their installment and their maintenance.

PARKING LOT OPERATION The company operating parking lots and structures throughout the city will get $220,945 more from city coffers. The City Council will contract with Parking Concepts Inc. as the city’s parking operator until summer 2007.

The increase is for the operating costs of the parking structure at the new Main Library and Civic Center parking lots.

PARK CONSTRUCTION City Council will pay contractors on the Virginia Avenue Park construction project $131,000 more for additional work.

The company designing the project, Koning Eizenberg Architecture, will get

an increase of $35,000, making its total income almost $1.4 million.

Black & Veatch will receive a paycheck totaling nearly $1.3 million after the $96,000 in added income.

The Virginia Avenue Park Expansion Project — including an outdoor recreation area and parking — began in fall 2003 and was expected to be finished by winter 2004. Project delays pushed back the completion date. Much progress was made in construction by October 2005, but more work is needed, city staff said.

CITY HALL PLANNERS The company helping City Hall’s understaffed planning department will get an additional $75,000 because more positions have opened.

Promotions in the department have left lower-level positions vacant. New employees won’t be hired until January of 2006, city staff said.

Civic Solutions Inc. received a contract with City Hall in spring 2005 to provide independent planners who pitch in where needed.

Rent on apartment will more than triple RCB, from page 8

“It sounds like you were trying to beat the system.”

Tracy Condon, a rent-control spokeswoman, said while Regulation No. 3304 has been active, 166 cases have been filed by landlords. Of those, 41 have been dismissed by a committee because there was

not enough evidence to support a hearing, 26 were granted administratively because the tenant didn’t contest the rent increase, and 22 were withdrawn by the landlord.

So far, hearings have been held in 71 cases, 48 of which ultimately sided with the landlord and 24 sided with the tenant, Condon said. Five cases are pending.

INTERESTED IN YOUR DAILY FORECAST? CHECK OUT THE HOROSCOPES ON PAGE 2!

Page 10

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press

DEAR DORIE Toddler holiday burnout?

Dear Dorie, Do you have any suggestions for dealing with an 18month-old through the holiday season? There are a lot of family meals and events, and I’m not sure he’s ready to handle all the change in routine. I’m particularly worried about the out-of-town guests expecting him to behave.

I’d really be happy with a few family photographs and some sleep. Help.

— Wake Me When It’s Over Dear Wake Me, Yes, the holidays are upon us. The Christmas decorations started appearing in September and plowed right through Halloween and Thanksgiving, not to mention this year’s celebration of Eid al Fitr and Dinwali right smack in the middle of it all. Most toddlers love the excitement, attention and magic of the season but have difficulty with the many changes in their daily rhythm and eating routines. It’s an unwritten rule that your little one will have a tantrum, if not many, somewhere in the next few weeks.

Luckily, there are a few guidelines to help manage the stress, and a few weeks of calm in January and February to re-establish your routine and sleep patterns. In the meantime, don’t white knuckle the entire season, hold on tight, enjoy the ride and take tons of pictures. Consider these ideas to help: ■ Be prepared for strong feelings from both the adults and children — holidays are emotional.

■ Be flexible in your celebrations — if your son falls asleep at the table, take a picture and put him to bed.

Don’t force the “tradition” on him just yet. Think of it as great scrap-booking material.

■ Identify your “triggers.” If you freak out when you’re sleep-deprived, do your best to rest.

Above all, allow your son to be himself. You don’t owe your relatives an explanation of his behavior. If they have children of their own, they will know and love that an 18-month-old rules the roost in unpredictable ways. If they don’t have children, they will certainly know that not every child sits on Santa’s lap with a big grin and maybe, just maybe, they’ll see the charm in it. Good luck and happy holidays.

— Dorie (Dorie Meek is director of the Infant & Family Support Program, provided by Saint John’s Health Center in partnership with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Submit your questions to “Dear Dorie” at meek@smmusd.org or call 310-452-6132.)

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Come to the rules poster How Much Is Enough?

By Jean Illsley Clarke Ph.D.

Learning what the rules are, who makes them and how to follow them is a childhood-long task. From the time children are very little, it helps to have the house rules posted with pictures that the children drew, or cut and pasted.

Having rules posted helps parents remember to keep the rules few and simple. It also helps children learn to think and to be responsible. When Adam breaks a rule, the parent can take him to the poster and ask, “What does our poster say about hitting?” The scenario may go something like this.

“I dunno.”

“I think you do. Look at the picture.” If this is a child who bolts, the parent holds the child’s wrist, ready to tighten the grip if the child tries to take off.

“No hitting.”

“Right. No hitting. But you just hit Dylan. So what could you do with your hand the next time your hand wants to hit?”

“He started it.”

“We’ll get to him later. So what could you do with your hand beside hitting?”

“I dunno.”

“Where could you put your hand so it wouldn’t hit?”

“In my pocket?”

“That would work. Let’s see you do that.” Child puts hands in pockets.

“Good. Now, if you didn’t have pockets, what could you do?”

“Put my hands behind my back?”

“Good idea. Let’s see you do that.” Child puts his hands behind his back.

“That works. Now, what else could you do?”

“I could hold my ears?”

“I bet you could.” Parent smiles appreciatively. “Let’s see you do that.” Child holds his ears.

“OK. So the next time your hand wants to hit, show me three things you can do with your hand instead.” Child does so.

“Well done. All of us have hands that want to hit sometimes, and we all have to learn what to do instead.

Now, what shall we do about Dylan? Can you work it out with Dylan, or do you need my help?”

If the child needs help, the parent refuses to be the judge, but teaches conflict resolution skills, requiring both children to think.

This method of discipline can be used with children as young as 3 years old. The advantages of using a rules poster are: ■ It requires the child to think.

■ It teaches a lesson for the future.

■ It helps the child know that the parent is on his team instead of being his adversary.

■ It gives the parent a chance to affirm the child rather than to criticize him.

Watch future “How Much Is Enough” columns for ideas about handling rules with little ones, school-age children and teens.

Many adults who had been overindulged as children who participated in the overindulgence research studies complained that there were no rules or that rules were not followed in their childhood homes. They said that caused difficulties in their adult lives.

To participate in a new study on overindulgence and relationships, log onto www.overindulgence.info.

(Jean Illsley Clarke, Ph.D., Connie Dawson, Ph.D., and David J. Bredehoft, Ph.D., are co-authors of “How Much is Enough? Everything You Need to Know to Steer Clear of Overindulgence and Raise Likeable, Responsible, and Respectful Children.” Illsley Clarke can be reached at jiconsults@aol.com. To read more about overindulgence, go to www.overindulgence.info.)

Santa Monica Daily Press

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DOWNTOWN ON ICE – NOV. 17 – JAN. 16 Don’t miss your chance to glide at this outdoor skating rink located at Pershing Square. $6 per session, $2 skate rental, 532 Olive St., 213-847-4970, www.laparks.org.

Mon. – Thurs., noon to 9:00 p.m.; Fri. – Sun., 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

HOLIDAY LIGHT FESTIVAL – NOV. 23 – DEC. 30 5:00 – 10:00 p.m. This annual tradition features 500,000 lights in festive displays showcasing LA locales. Shuttle service available on select weekends from LA Zoo. Crystal Springs Dr., Griffith Park, 888-LA-PARKS, FREE! A VERY OLD MAN WITH ENORMOUS WINGS NOV. 25 – 7:00 p.m., NOV. 26 & 27 – 2:00 & 5:00 p.m.

Based on a short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that tells what happens when Fefe and Momo discover a winged old man who appears to have fallen out of the sky. For ages 6 and up, $20 - $40. Kirk Douglas Theatre, 9820 Washington Blvd., Culver City, 213-628-2772.

TUESDAY Movies for Moms! 11:00 a.m., Loews Cineplex Broadway Theatre, 1441 3rd St. Promenade – for Moms and babies newborn – 1 year old. Doors open early for socializing and getting comfortable. Visit www.enjoytheshow.com/reelmoms for details.

Nov. 22 – Walk the Line starring Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon and Ginnifer Goodwin. Biography/Drama, Rated “PG.”

Storytelling

Main Library – held at Reed Park, corner of 7th and Wilshire.

Toddler Storytime; 10:00 a.m. For 2 year olds with adult.

Preschool Story Time; 10:30 a.m.; for ages 3-5.

Fairview Branch Library – 2101 Ocean Park Blvd – 310-450-0443.

Cuentos Para Pequenos – 10:00 a.m., sixweek series in Spanish for 24 – 36 month olds.

Lap Time – 11:00 a.m, six-week series for babies 0-24 months, co-sponsored by the SMMUSD Infant & Family Support Program.

Current session Nov. 1 – Dec. 6.

Twilight Story Time -7pm – an ongoing program for 3-5 year olds.

Montana Avenue Branch Library – 1704 Montana Ave – 310-829-7081.

Family Story Time – 7:00 p.m., all ages.

Terrific Tuesdays –Nov. 22 – holiday themed stories and crafts for ages 5–8.

Ocean Park Branch Library – 2601 Main St. – 310-392-3804.

Toddler Storytime, 10:00 and 10:30. Music, rhymes and stories for 2 to 3 year olds.

Current session Nov. 8 – Dec. 13. Registration required.

Tiny Tuesday Storytime at Storyopolis For ages infant to 3. 11:00 a.m. 116 North Robertson, Plaza A, LA. 310-358-2500, www.storyopolis.com Barnes and Noble at the Grove Storytime for ages 2 – 6. 10:00 a.m. 189 Grove Drive, LA, 323-525-0270

Classes

YWCA – A Place for Parents –Toddler & Me Class - 9:15 - 10:15 a.m. – 12 to 36 months; Infant & Me Class – 10:45 – 11:45 a.m. and 1:30 – 2:30 p.m., 0 – 12 months; 2019 14th St. Call 452-3881for details and prices.

YMCA – Attachment Parenting Classes - 2:00 – 3:30 p.m., 1332 Sixth St., 393-2721 (ask for Shelana Philip-Guide or Audrey Meyer). This new class for mothers/dads and babies up to 12 months is presented by Karol Darsa, PsyD, a licensed psychologist with extensive experience working with children and families.

Fees: Members – 1 class - $40, 5 class pass - $180; Non-members - $50, 5 class pass $200.

BREAKTHROUGH PARENTING CLASSES – 7:00 – 9:30 p.m.

An advanced 10-week parent education course. Continuous enrollment. For info call Jayne A. Major, Ph.D., Breakthrough Parenting Services, Inc., 310-823-7846, jm@BPinAction.org.

Yoga & Exercise

Prenatal Aqua Aerobics at the Santa Monica YMCA 10:00 – 11:00 a.m and 7:30 – 8:30 p.m; Free for members, non-members $90 for 10 classes. (also Thursday nights 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.)

393-2721. ext. 117 for more info.

Yoga Works – 2215 Montana Ave, 310-3935150; Pre/postnatal – 12:15 – 1:40 p.m., $15.

Mommy and Me – 1:45 – 3:00 p.m.

Mommy Care – at the Dance Factory, 11606 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, 310-394-6711.

Combined Pregnancy/Recovery Exercise Group – 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.. (babies welcome, includes baby massage and workout at the end) Itsy Bitsy Yoga – Baby IBY (6 weeks to precrawling) – 9:30 – 10:30 a.m. With Khefri Riley at Ocean Oasis, 1333 Ocean Ave. Register at www.khefri.net or call 323-5495383.

Stroller Strides Fitness Class – 9:30 a.m.

Mon. – Fri., Palisades Park, call 800-7956708 or visit www.strollerstrides.com for more info.

Breastfeeding Group

The Pump Station, 2415 Wilshire Blvd., 310998-1981 - drop-in, first class free, $10 fee

thereafter. Moms/babies 0-4 months, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY MOMS Club of SM South Playgroups – 4:30 p.m., separate groups for children born in 2000 and 2001. Call or email Alison at 3934481/riversalison@hotmail.com for more info.

All moms welcome!

Storytelling

Baby Attuned - Fridays, 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., A new program promoting sensitive parenting and developmental awareness. Eileen Escarce, PhD, MSN. (PSY 18819). Introductory fee: $15 per screening with feedback. 1137 2nd Ave, Suite 213. By appointment only 310367-1155.

SATURDAY

SUNDAY All About Santa at the Santa Monica Playhouse Saturdays & Sundays at 12:30 & 3:00 p.m. thru Dec. 18th , $12.50 adults, $10.50 kids ages 12 & under. 394-9779 ext. 2 for reservations, www.santamonicaplayhouse.com Also Dec. 20 & 22 at 2:00 p.m.

Main Street Farmer’s Market – 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., corner of Main St. and Ocean Park Blvd. Pony rides, live music, lots of vendors and great family socializing.

Puppetolio – 1:00 and 3:00pm, 310-6560483, 1255 2nd St., ages 3 & up, reservations suggested Magicopolis – 2 p.m., 1418 4th St., Admission is $15. Call 310-451-2241 for info.

Storytelling

YWCA – Toddler & Me every other Sat., 9:45 – 10:45 a.m., $15 per class; Parent Enrichment once per month , 11:00 a.m. – noon, $15 per class, $25 per couple.

MOMS Club of SM South Playgroups Noon – 2:00 p.m.., for children born 1/02 – 2/03; 9:30 a.m. – for children born 1/04 – 9/04; call or email Alison at 393-4481/riversalison@hotmail.com for more info. All moms welcome!

Classes

Yoga & Exercise

Storytelling

Rhythm Child Parent & Me Rhythms, Santa Monica Studios, 3025 Olympic Blvd., 9:30 – 10:15 a.m. Children explore rhythms through drum play. For toddlers. $100 for 8 weeks.

Call 204-5466 or visit www.rhythmchild.net for more info and session dates.

YWCA – A Place for Parents –Toddler & Me Class - 9:15 - 10:15 a.m. – walkers to 3 years; (Mon – Fri); 2019 14th St. Call 4523881for details and prices.

Enchanted Lunchtime Theatre at Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 4th St., 394-9779 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. For ages 3 – 5 with parents. This theatrical adventure includes story time, theatre games, crafts, play building and lunch. Reservations required 24 hours in advance, $19.50 includes lunch for child and lunch.

Yoga & Exercise

Kids’ Yoga Circle, 1814 14th St., 260-2736 – Yoga and more for ages 4 – 7, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. 8 week session $125/Drop-in $18 Yoga Works, 2215 Montana Ave, 310-3935150 Pre/Postnatal – 12:15 – 1:45pm, $15 Fitness for Moms – Babies Welcome! Step Aerobics, 10:30 a.m. at the YMCA, 393-2721, ext. 117 for more info. Free for members, non-members pay $90 for 10 classes.

Stroller Strides Fitness Class – 9:30 a.m.

Mon. – Fri., Palisades Park, call 800-7956708 or visit www.strollerstrides.com for more info.

Breastfeeding Group

The Pump Station, 2415 Wilshire Blvd., 310998-1981, drop-in, first class free, $10 fee thereafter. Moms/babies 0-4 months, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Page 11

Hills.

Other

The Talking Stick Coffee Lounge – 1630 Ocean Park Blvd., 450-6052 10:30 a.m. Free story time for moms and kids ages 0-4 at this neighborhood coffee shop.

Fairview Branch Library – 2101 Ocean Park Blvd – 310-450-0443.

Toddler Story Time – 9:30 a.m., for two year olds with adult.

Preschool Story Time – 10:30 a.m.; for 3-5 year olds with adult.

Current session Nov. 2 – Dec. 7.

Montana Avenue Branch Library – 1704 Montana Ave – 310-829-7081.

Lap Time - 10:15 & 11:15 a.m., ages 0-2.

Current session Oct. 26 – Dec. 14.

Ocean Park Branch Library – 2601 Main St. –392-3804.

Preschool Twilight Story Time – 7:00 – 7:30 p.m. Parents/children ages 3-5.

Barnes and Noble, Westside Pavilion – 2 pm – ages 2-5 – 310-475-4144 Border’s, Westwood – 11a.m. – 310-4753444.

YWCA – A Place for Parents –Toddler & Me Class - 10:45 – 11:45 a.m., 7 to 36 months; 2019 14th St. Call 452-3881for details and prices.

❑

Barnes and Noble, 3rd St. Promenade – Kid’s Story Time – 10am, 310-260-9110 Barnes and Noble, Westside Pavilion – 10:30am – ages 2-5, 310-475-4144.

Children’s Book World, 10580 1/2 Pico Blvd, LA - 10:30 a.m., 310-559-BOOK. Village Books, 1049 SwarthmoreAve, Pacific Palisades – 10:30 a.m., 454-4063.

826LA, 685 Venice Blvd, 2nd Floor, Venice – 10:30 – 11:30 a.m., ages 3-6, RSVP to info @825LA.com or 310-314-8418. (826LA is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write).

Classes

Santa Monica Yoga – Pre- & Post-Natal Yoga, Saturdays – 12:30 – 2:00 p.m.

1640 Ocean Park Blvd, 396-4040, www.santamonicayoga.com Mommy Care – at the Dance Factory, 11606 San Vicente Blvd., Brentwood, 310-394-6711.

Combined Pregnancy/Recovery Exercise Group – 8:30 – 9:30 a.m.(babies welcome, includes baby massage and workout at the end) Stroller Strides Fitness Class – 9:00 a.m., Palisades Park, call 800-795-6708 or visit www.strollerstrides.com for more info.

Other

All About Santa at the Santa Monica Playhouse Saturdays & Sundays at 12:30 & 3:00 p.m. thru Dec. 18th , $12.50 adults, $10.50 kids ages 12 & under. 394-9779 ext. 2 for reservations, www.santamonicaplayhouse.com Also Dec. 20 & 22 at 2:00 p.m.

Puppetolio – 1:00 and 3:00pm, 310-6560483, 1255 2nd St., ages 3 & up, reservations suggested Magicopolis – 2 and 8 p.m., 1418 4th St., Admission is $20 for evening, $15 for matinee.

Call 310-451-2241 for info.

Precious Prints – Ceramic Heirlooms for a Lifetime Second Saturday every month at The Pump Station, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Contact Kristan Ritchie at 310-802-8013 or visit www.preciousprintsstudios.com for more info.

Lakeshore Learning Stores “Free Crafts for Kids” – Saturdays, 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., 8888 Venice Blvd., 559-9630.

“A Faery Hunt” – 10:30 a.m., every Saturday at Franklin Canyon Park. An interactive children’s show, searching for fairies and other enchanted creatures in the magical canyon and finding them! $10, call for reservations – 818-324-6802. www.faeryhunt.com. Meet in the parking lot of the Sooky Goldman Nature Center, 2600 Franklin Canyon Dr., Beverly

Breastfeeding

Working Mother’s Support Group The Pump Station, 2415 Wilshire Blvd. - Call 998-1981 for more info.

MONDAY

Main Library – Lap Time at Joslyn Park – 9:30 a.m. Current session thru Dec. 12.

“Family Connections” – 10:00 a.m., immediately following Lap Time - a series of discussions related to early childhood development and growth. Children welcome, free.

Ocean Park Branch Library – 2601 Main Street, 310-392-3804.

“Spanish for Little Ones” - 11:15 a.m., for ages 2 – 5.

Barnes and Noble, 3rd St. Promenade – Toddler Story Time – 10am – 310-260-9110

Classes

YWCA – A Place for Parents –Toddler & Me Class - 9:15 - 10:15 a.m. – 12 – 36 mos.; “Playtime – A combination play time and parent support time”, 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., 2019 14th St. Call 452-3881for details and prices.

Breastfeeding Group

The Pump Station, 2415 Wilshire Blvd., 310998-1981 - drop-in, first class free, $10 fee thereafter. Moms/babies 0-4 months, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

Yoga & Exercise

Free Estate Planning Seminar Saturday, December 3, 2005, 11:00am & 1:30pm

(310) 264-0517 Seating limited. Call for Reservations. 1st 20 people to register will receive a bonus guide to estate planning, a $29.95 value FREE!

Yoga Works, 2215 Montana Ave, 310-3935150 Pre/Postnatal – 12:15 – 1:45pm, $15 Itsy Bitsy Yoga – TOT IBY (crawling – 2/3 years) – 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. With Khefri Riley at TURNOUT Performing Arts Center, 12113 Santa Monica Bl., St. 201. Register at www.khefri.net or call 323-549-5383.

Yoga Garden, - Restorative yoga for pre/postnatal – 6:30 p.m., 310-450-0133. www.yogagardenstudios.com Stroller Strides Fitness Class – 9:30 a.m.

Mon. – Fri., Palisades Park, call 800-7956708 or visit www.strollerstrides.com for more info.

Other

Puppetolio – 1:00 p.m., 310-656-0483, 1255 2nd St., ages 3 & up, reservations suggested

THURSDAY HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Rmember to let you familiy and friends know how thankful you are for them! Especially your children!

Expecting?

Weíll Be Expecting You!

FRIDAY Please call to confirm these events this week!

MOMS Club of SM South Playgroups 11:00 a.m. for children born 10/04 – 5/05; call or email Alison at 393-4481/riversalison@hotmail.com for more info. All moms welcome!

Parent’s Night Out at Child’s Play, 2299 Westwood Blvd., 6:00 – 11:00 p.m.

Kids get a night of supervised fun with pizza, games and more while parents go out. Ages 3-10, $9 per hour, $7 siblings, 3 hour minimum. Reservations required, 470-4997. ww.childsplayonline.net La Leche League of LA/Mar Vista – meets the 2nd Friday of each month at 10:00 a.m.

Call 310-390-2529 for info.

Planetarium Show at SMC’s John Drescher Planetarium, 7:00 p.m. - Night Sky Show, 8:00 p.m. – featured program. $5 adults, $4 children. Pico and 17th St., 434-3000.

Classes

YWCA – A Place for Parents –Toddler & Me Class - 9:15 - 10:15 a.m. – 12 – 36 mos.; 2019 14th St. Call 452-3881for details and prices.

Yoga & Exercise

Fitness for Moms – Babies Welcome! Indoor Cycling, 10:30 a.m. at the YMCA, 393-2721, ext. 117 for more info. Free for members, non-members pay $90 for 10 classes.

Yoga Works – 2215 Montana Ave, 310-3935150; Pre/postnatal – 12:15 – 1:45 p.m., $15.

Stroller Strides Fitness Class – 9:30 a.m.

Mon. – Fri., Palisades Park, call 800-7956708 or visit www.strollerstrides.com for more info.

Take a FREE tour of The BirthPlace at Santa Monica –UCLA Medical Center Tours held monthly. Private tours available too.

Call today: (310) 319-4947

Page 12

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press

STATE STATE BRIEFS Ventura County wildfire nearly contained

By The Associated Press

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VENTURA — A wildfire that burned nearly 3,900 acres of hillside brush near expensive homes was nearly surrounded Monday as favorable weather helped firefighters.

The 3,891-acre fire was 95 percent contained, with only two outbuildings burned.

“The fire is looking a lot better,” said Joe Luna, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department.

“Basically, the fire is pretty much a done deal.”

The blaze erupted Friday in School Canyon and initially threatened 200 homes as it was stoked by dry Santa Ana winds. The winds died down, then returned Sunday with gusts of nearly 50 mph. Firefighters had strong containment lines and made progress despite the resurgence of the winds.

Wind was no longer a factor Monday and cooler temperatures also helped crews, Luna said.

More than 900 firefighters remained on the scene 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Crews, along with a water-dropping helicopter, were completing the containment line and stamping out hotspots, Luna said.

Full containment was expected by 6 p.m. Tuesday, he said.

Firefighting costs approached $2 million and two firefighters suffered minor injuries.

The cause of the blaze remained under investigation.

Prison redesigned for inmates with chronic conditions

By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Bureau of Prisons is converting the Terminal Island prison into a medical facility for inmates with chronic conditions that require regular treatment.

The move is part of the bureau’s plan to classify its prisons according to the level of medical care it can provide to inmates. During the summer, the bureau began transferring inmates with diabetes, HIV and mental illness to the penitentiary, according to bureau spokeswoman Traci Billingsley.

Many of the inmates are treated as outpatients in local hospitals and need daily, weekly or monthly medical visits.

The prison housed medical and psychiatric prisoners from 1950 to 1955 before it was turned into a moderateto low-security prison.

Under the new classification, the prison will also arrange medical treatment for inmates for wound care, asthma and cirrhosis.

Weekend birthday party turns deadly

By The Associated Press

WEST COVINA — Two men were killed and two other people were wounded in a shooting at a weekend birthday party, police said.

The shooting was reported around 2 a.m. Sunday and many of the guests told police there was no sign of trouble before the shooting started at the home where the party was held.

“It was chaos for a while,” said police Cpl. Rudy Lopez. “Most of them said they didn’t see it coming.”

Roberto Ruiz, 23, of La Puente died at the scene, Lopez said. Adam Rodriguez, 20, of West Covina died at a hospital.

A 23-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were treated for gunshot wounds. They were listed in stable condition at a hospital Monday, said Lt. Marcos Plebani.

Plebani said the shooting was under investigation and the shooter remained at large.

911 alternatives catching on in LA

By The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — It looks like the 211, 311 and 399 telephone help lines are catching on with Los Angeles County residents.

Officials say more people may be dialing those numbers for non-emergencies and freeing up the 911 line for real emergencies.

Officials said the number of calls the 311 local government services line — which refers residents to city agencies for assistance with such things as graffiti removal and bulk-item trash pickup — jumped more than 60 percent in the last fiscal year. During that period, the number of 911 calls fell 5 percent.

“We are taking credit for some of that reduction,” said David Dizon, director of the city’s 311 system.

The California Highway Patrol was still evaluating the impact of the 399 line, which was launched in July for motorists seeking roadside assistance, on 911 calls from cellular phones, said CHP spokeswoman Rebecca Estrada.

Thomas Prigatano, a public safety dispatch supervisor at the CHP’s Los Angeles communications center, said he believes the county’s 211 line has reduced some 911 calls.

The number was also launched in July to help connect people with health and social service programs in the county and help reduce non-emergency calls to 911.

“When I’m not playing my guitar, I’m reading about Main Street in the Daily Press.”

Gary Gordon, Executive Director, Main Street Business Improvement Association, former Mayor of Gainsville, FL and musician

Santa Monica Daily Press www.smdp.com

Santa Monica Daily Press

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Page 13

STATE

New wave of hybrids offer more mean, less green

BY TIM MOLLOY Associated Press Writer

SAN DIEGO — When automakers rolled out the first hybrid cars, drivers who wanted their spectacular fuel economy had to settle for weird shapes and a lack of luxury options.

Now it seems the high-mileage, low-frills trend in hybrid automaking may prove shorter than a Hummer’s trips between fill-ups.

Newer hybrids are using the added boost from their gas-electric engines for more acceleration and power. But more mean equals less green.

To attract drivers looking for large and luxurious vehicles, automakers such as Lexus and General Motors Corp. are building hybrids with the looks and size of regular cars.

The focus on performance sacrifices the kind of jawdropping efficiency that got hybrids noticed in the first place.

Environmentalists say automakers are squandering gas-scrimping technology that reduces air pollution as well as the nation’s reliance on foreign oil.

“Consumers are enthralled by hybrids because they sip gas and don’t guzzle it, and they pollute less,” said Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club’s global warming program. “So if you have a hybrid that guzzles and doesn’t pollute less, then what are you doing?”

Though sales of large SUVs have taken a hit, luxury and midsize SUVs continue to do well.

American automakers are launching hybrid versions of those vehicles to remain competitive in the areas where they are most profitable, said Anthony Pratt, an analyst who covers hybrids for J.D. Power and Associates. It’s cheaper to modify an existing model than to build a new competitor to the Prius or Insight, and SUVs have more room for adding hybrid components than sedans, he said.

Automakers say gas guzzlers have the most room for improvement. But some new hybrids barely get better mileage than their non-hybrid counterparts.

Take the hybrid Chevrolet Silverado, which gets the same 19 miles per gallon on the highway as a regular Silverado. On city streets it gets 17 mpg, two mpg more than the non-hybrid.

The Silverado is among six hybrids either available or being designed by GM, the world’s largest automaker.

All but one is an SUV or truck.

GM says small improvements make a big difference.

Upping an SUV’s performance from 10 mpg to 11 mpg will save 110 gallons of gas every 12,000 miles, points out GM engineer Tim Grewe. That’s more than the 100 gallons saved by increasing a sedan’s fuel economy from 30 to 40 mpg and driving it the same distance.

Grewe’s formula works only because SUVs use so much more gas. The 11-mpg SUV needs 1,090 gallons to go 12,000 miles; the 40-mpg sedan needs only 300 gallons.

Lawrence Dewey, 78, is among those not getting the mileage he expected from a hybrid.

Dewey and his wife love the plush interior, moving headlights, and “get up and go” of their new Lexus RX 400h hybrid.

The only problem, he says, is that it averages only 25 mpg, about what he used to get in a non-hybrid Volvo Cross Country SUV. The disappointing mileage has caused him to drive less.

“We look at that figure and go: ‘Do we need to go now?’” said Dewey, who lives just outside Madison, Wis. “We’ll combine it with another trip.”

Dewey’s other quarrel is with the EPA, which rated the vehicle at 31 mpg city and 27 mpg highway. The agency’s mileage figures for new cars often are inflated because testing conditions yield better efficiency than real-world driving.

Dewey doesn’t come close to saving enough gas to

make up the price difference between the $46,060 400h and the $37,770 non-hybrid Lexus RX 330. The hybrid does measure up in other areas: It goes from 0-60 mph in 6.9 seconds and has 268 horsepower. That’s nearly one second faster and 45 horsepower better than the RX 330.

“A lot of people, whether they have size needs or need to carry more cargo ... they like to have a bigger car. In order to reach out to those folks you have to offer them performance,” said Lexus spokesman Greg Thome said, “otherwise they wouldn’t even look at buying a hybrid.”

An estimated 220,000 hybrids will be sold domestically this year, about 1.3 percent of the market, according to car-industry analyst J. D. Power & Associates. That’s a major jump from last year, when 87,000 hybrids accounted for 0.5 percent of domestic car sales.

Some cutting-edge hybrid researchers believe consumers shouldn’t have to choose between performance and efficiency. At San Diego State University, engineering professor Jim Burns led a student team that built the Enigma — a diesel hybrid convertible that goes from zero to 60 mpg in 4.3 seconds while getting 80 mpg.

A close performance equivalent is a Dodge Viper, which gets about 12 mpg city and 20 mpg highway.

Burns, who says he would consider mass-marketing Enigmas for $60,000 if he could get 1,000 orders, says it will take flash, not just good mileage, to make the public fall in love with hybrids.

Some environmentalists are experimenting with the same pragmatic approach.

Earlier this year, the Sierra Club handed out its first praise for a hybrid SUV, Ford’s Mercury Mariner, which gets an EPA-rated 33 mpg city and 29 mpg highway.

“I think it would be vastly preferable for everyone to drive a 45- or 55-mpg vehicle and the technology exists to do that,” said Becker, the organization’s global warming specialist. “But not everyone wants to buy a sedan. ...

If they’re going to buy an SUV, it’s better that they buy one that gets over 30 mpg than under 20.”

Spacecraft halfway to Mars, should arrive in March

BY ALICIA CHANG AP Science Writer

LOS ANGELES — A NASA spacecraft is halfway toward Mars where it is expected to collect more data on the Red Planet than all previous Martian explorations combined.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully fired its six engines for 20 seconds last week to adjust its flight path in anticipation of its March arrival. It will fine-tune its trajectory two more times before it enters into orbit around Mars, said Allen Halsell, deputy navigation chief at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena.

Once in orbit, the two-ton spacecraft will join a trio of

probes currently flying around Mars. The orbiter is loaded with some of the most sophisticated science instruments ever flown into space including a telescopic camera that can snap the sharpest pictures yet of the planet’s rust-colored surface.

Previous spacecraft that have landed, circled or zipped past Mars have shot tens of thousands of images, but only about 2 percent of the planet has been seen at high resolution.

The orbiter also will continue to seek for evidence of water, scan the surface for sites to land future robotic explorers and serve as a communications link to relay data to Earth. Already, the orbiter has successfully returned data at 6 megabits per second, or about the speed of filling a CD-ROM every 16 minutes.

The reconnaissance orbiter flawlessly launched aboard an Atlas V rocket in August for a 310-million mile journey to the Red Planet. It will spend the next few months dipping down into the planet’s upper atmosphere, using friction to slow down and lower its altitude.

The orbiter is the last of its kind that NASA will send to Mars this decade. Budget cuts forced the space agency to cancel a $500 million mission to send another orbiter in 2009. However, NASA plans two additional Martian landing missions — the Phoenix Mars Scout in 2007 and the Mars Science Laboratory two years later.

The orbiter’s primary mission ends in 2010, but scientists say it has enough fuel to last until 2014.

The $750 million mission is managed by JPL.

Page 14

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press

NATIONAL

Cheney blasts senators who claim Bush lied

BY DOUGLASS K. DANIEL Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday said he strongly disagrees with a battle-tested congressman who advocates quickly pulling all U.S. troops from Iraq, calling such a proposal “a dangerous illusion.”

Cheney stopped short of joining those Republicans who have questioned the patriotism and courage of Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., calling him “a good man, a Marine, a patriot.” Cheney’s subdued comments about Murtha followed those of President Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld.

Cheney pressed the administration’s high-voltage attack on war critics, particularly Senate Democrats who voted in October 2002 to give Bush authority to go to war in Iraq and who now oppose his policy, calling them “dishonest and reprehensible.”

“The flaws in the intelligence are plain enough in hindsight. But any suggestion that prewar information was distorted, hyped or fabricated by the leader of the nation is utterly false,” Cheney said in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute.

As to proposals for a rapid pullout of U.S. troops, Cheney said, “It is a dangerous illusion to suppose that another retreat by the civilized world would satisfy the appetite of the terrorists and get them to leave us alone.”

Nearly 160,000 U.S. troops remain in Iraq.

Cheney ticked off a long list of terrorist attacks on American interests going back more than the two decades that preceded the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, includ-

ing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and earlier ones in Beirut, Saudi Arabia and Africa.

“Now they’re making a stand in Iraq, testing our resolve, trying to intimidate the United States into abandoning our friends and permitting the overthrow of this new Middle Eastern democracy,” Cheney said.

He said he respected the right of Murtha to form his own opinion. Murtha has served in Congress for three decades, is a decorated Marine combat veteran from Vietnam, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee and has long been an ardent defender of the armed forces.

“Nor is there any problem with debating whether the United States and its allies should have liberated Iraq in the first place,” Cheney said. “Nobody is saying we should not be having this discussion.”

Cheney added, “Those who advocate a sudden withdrawal from Iraq should answer a few simple questions,” including whether the United States be “better off or worse off” with terror leaders such as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Osama bin Laden, or Ayman al-Zawahiri in control?

On Monday, Murtha defended his call to get out of Iraq, saying he was reflecting Americans’ sentiment.

“The public turned against this war before I said it,” Murtha said, speaking in his hometown of Johnstown, Pa. “The public is emotionally tied into finding a solution to this thing, and that’s what I hope this administration is going to find out.”

The administration has been toning down its criticism of Murtha since White House spokesman Scott McClellan derided him last week as an ultraliberal, liken-

ing him to activist far-left filmmaker Michael Moore.

The Iraq debate turned more vitriolic in recent days, with the Senate voting overwhelmingly to require fuller reporting by the administration on progress, and by Murtha’s proposal. That brought sharp criticism from the White House and led to a tumultuous late-night House floor fight when the GOP leaders forced a vote on an immediate pullout measure in hopes of trapping Democrats. It was rejected 403-3.

Troop levels will remain at their present levels as Iraqis prepare for elections Dec. 15, and will return to a baseline strength of 130,000 when the commanders there determine that conditions on the ground warrant it, Rumsfeld said on Sunday.

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill called Murtha’s position one of abandonment and surrender and suggested that the decorated Marine Corps veteran and likeminded politicians were acting cowardly.

Bush, who was returning Monday from a tour of Asia, praised Murtha as “a fine man” and said that disagreeing with the administration was not unpatriotic.

Rumsfeld, appearing on the Sunday morning news shows, acknowledged that questions about war ought to be debated, but he also warned that words have consequences for both the insurgents in Iraq and the U.S. troops opposing them.

“The enemy hears a big debate in the United States, and they have to wonder: ‘Maybe all we have to do is wait and we’ll win. We can’t win militarily.’ They know that. The battle is here in the United States,” Rumsfeld said on “Fox News Sunday.”

Bush salutes Mongolia for assisting his democracy push in Middle East

BY JENNIFER LOVEN Associated Press Writer

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia — President Bush, buffeted by unrelenting criticism at home over Iraq, on Monday saluted Mongolia’s “fearless warriors” for helping his embattled effort to establish democracy in the heart of the Middle East.

“Mongolia and the United States are standing together as brothers in the cause of freedom,” Bush told Mongolian troops and lawmakers in a speech at the Government House.

After two days in China partly aimed at nudging that communist country toward greater freedoms, Bush’s stop here — the first by a U.S. president — was meant to showcase the first communist country in Asia to turn toward democracy. Mongolia discarded communism 15 years ago; it holds democratic elections and allows Western-style freedoms.

“You are an example of success for the region and for the world,” Bush said. “As you build a free society in the heart of Central Asia, the American people stand with you.”

Bush spent about four hours in this land of vast deserts, plains and mountains on the last leg of an eightday, four-country swing through Asia that included stops in Japan, South Korea and China. After the 13-minute speech, Bush ventured just outside the capital to sip fermented mare’s milk and listen to the traditional Central Asian art of throat singing.

“Really special,” he commented.

Bush was due to arrive at the White House Monday night.

Visiting what is known proudly here as the coldest capital in the world in wintertime, thick pollution hung over the city as his motorcade passed barren mountains, soldiers at attention and thousands of curious but mostly impassive locals. He was greeted at the Government House by flower-toting children in traditional Mongolian robes and soldiers in bright red, blue and yellow overcoats.

“Such an honor to be here,” Bush told Mongolian President Nambaryn Enkhbayar. They met inside a ger, a white tent, in a courtyard of the government building.

Gers are round, easily packable felt tents that are wellsuited to Mongolia’s harsh climate and nomadic culture.

The ornate one used by the presidents had a red-and-yellow design on the roof and red wood doors. Inside were red brocade chairs, tapestries, Oriental carpets and a towering, white statue of Genghis Khan, the legendary horseman-warrior and country founder whose empire once stretched as far south as Southeast Asia and west to Hungary.

Enkhbayar is from the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, the former communist party now committed to free elections and capitalism. Bush’s brief meeting with Enkhbayar preceded another with Prime Minister T. Elbegdor, from the rival Democratic Party.

Bush played to Mongolia’s pride in its military by publicly recognizing two soldiers who gunned down a suicide truck bomber before he could strike a mess tent in Iraq. Mongolia’s force of about 160 in Iraq makes it, with its population of just 2.8 million, the third-largest con-

tributor per capita to the coalition.

“U.S. armed forces are proud to serve beside such fearless warriors,” Bush said.

The president’s warm reception in this country eager for U.S. assistance and attention brought some relief from the unrelenting and acrid debate at home about his policies in Iraq. The Mongolian people, Bush said, “claimed their freedom 15 years ago and are now standing with others across the world to help them do the same.”

But the transition from 70 years of Soviet domination to free markets meant the end of economic help from Moscow. That, in turn, brought crushing poverty and its accompanying social ills. Foreign investment is scant, and its schools and health system are in decline. But the economy grew nearly 11 percent last year and the country is rich in copper and gold.

Before leaving Washington, Bush bluntly said corruption is a problem in Mongolia. He was more diplomatic on the ground, gently pressing lawmakers to pass anticorruption legislation needed to bring it in line with a United Nations treaty against corruption it ratified this year. Enkhbayar was elected in May on a platform of fighting corruption.

Bush noted that Mongolia is one of 16 countries that will share $1 billion in U.S. aid as part of an incentive program for poor countries that show a commitment to economic and government reform. The president also brought a gift — $11 million in aid to improve Mongolia’s military forces through a separate program for nations allied with the U.S.-led war on terror.

Santa Monica Daily Press

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Page 15

INTERNATIONAL

Sharon seeking dissolution of parliament

BY RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI Associated Press Writer

JERUSALEM — In a bold gamble, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday asked Israel’s president to dissolve parliament, pushing for a quick March election just hours after deciding to leave his hardline Likud Party and form a new centrist party.

Sharon’s decision to leave Likud sent shock waves through Israel, redrawing the political map, finalizing his transformation from hardliner to moderate and boosting prospects of progress in peacemaking with the Palestinians.

His confidants say Sharon felt Likud hardliners, who tried to block this summer’s Gaza pullout, were imposing too many constraints and would prevent future peace moves. Palestinian officials expressed hope Monday that the political upheaval in Israel would bring them closer to a final peace deal.

The dramatic events began with Sharon’s decision late Sunday, after a weekend of agonizing, to leave the party he helped found in 1973. On Monday morning, Sharon asked President Moshe Katsav to dissolve parliament, a step that would move the vote to the beginning of March, or eight months ahead of schedule.

Katsav said he would weigh the request and decide quickly, after consulting with leaders of other parties.

Midday Monday, Sharon met at his office with 11 breakaway Likud legislators, expected to form the core of the new party, reportedly to be called “National Responsibility.”

At the same time, more than 20 Likud lawmakers held their weekly meeting in parliament. The faction chief, Gideon Saar, announced that Sharon had sent a letter announcing his resignation from the party. The oversized brown leather chair, normally reserved for Sharon at the head

of the oval table, was pushed to the side.

Sharon was to announce the split formally in a nationally televised news conference later Monday.

The decision set the stage for a turbulent election campaign.

It would pit a smaller, more hawkish Likud, possibly led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against Sharon and the new Labor Party leader, former union boss Amir Peretz. Sharon and Netanyahu are bitter political rivals. Peretz, in turn, rejuvenated the ailing Labor Party with his appeal to Israel’s working class and Sephardi Jews of Middle Eastern descent, voter groups that were once was largely out of Labor’s reach.

One opinion poll Monday indicated that an alliance of Sharon’s new party with the moderate Labor and leftist parties would command a comfortable majority in the 120-member parliament.

It was seen as unlikely that Sharon would seek a coalition with Likud after the election, since hardliners in the party spent months trying to halt the Gaza pullout, and came close at times to bringing down his government.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat compared the events to the eruption of a volcano. “I’ve never seen anything of this significance,” he said. “I hope that when the dust settles, we will have a partner in Israel to go to the end game, toward the end of conflict, toward a final agreement.”

The Palestinians also face political turmoil. The Islamic militant group Hamas is competing in Jan. 25 parliament elections and poses a strong challenges to Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Sharon has said he would not hold talks with a Palestinian government that includes Hamas members.

Sharon had initially said Israel’s general election would be held in November as scheduled, but after Peretz took over con-

One opinion poll Monday indicated that an alliance of Sharon’s new party with the moderate Labor and leftist parties would command a comfortable majority in the 120-member parliament. trol of Labor, an early poll became inevitable. Peretz insisted on pulling Labor out of Sharon’s coalition, depriving the prime minister of a parliamentary majority. Late Sunday, Labor voted to bolt the government.

Katsav, the president, said Sharon told him Monday he could no longer run the government because he does not have a majority in parliament. “Of course, I think we need to dissolve the Knesset and hold elections as soon as possible,” Katsav said. If Katsav approves the dissolution of parliament, a new election would have to be held within 90 days.

Among those expected to follow Sharon out of Likud are Vice Premier Ehud Olmert and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni. Former Shin Bet chief Avi Dichter, two top academics and even ousted Labor leader Shimon Peres were mentioned as possibilities. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz was still undecided Monday.

Those remaining in Likud said they would try to block Sharon’s moves. Saar, the Likud faction chief, said he would try to form a coalition of 61 legislators who oppose early elections. Under the law, Katsav has to consult with party leaders to see if any among them can form a new coalition.

“The prime minister and his people are exerting great pressure on Likud legislators to defect from the Likud,” Saar told

Israel Army Radio. “I call on Likud members ... don’t give your hand to bringing down the Likud and to a process whose only purpose is a very deep withdrawal from the West Bank.”

Public Security Minister Gideon Ezra said the refusal of the Likud rebels to support Sharon’s future peace moves forced the prime minister to leave his political home.

“I think that it is not an easy day. I had hoped that this wouldn’t have to happen, that we would all remain together,” Ezra told Israel Radio. “I had hoped ... that the members would say we are all falling into line, but that didn’t happen and Ariel Sharon decided what he decided and I am going with him.”

Removed from the constraints of Likud, Sharon would be free to pursue the more moderate line he has espoused in recent years — part of a dramatic turnaround from a fervent supporter of Jewish settlements to the first Israeli leader to dismantle West Bank and Gaza communities.

Sharon’s departure turns Likud into a hard-line party that opinion polls show will be the main loser in an election.

“I regret Sharon’s decision to leave and would have preferred that he continue his struggle within Likud,” said Likud lawmaker Ehud Yatom, a leader of the internal rebellion against Sharon.

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Page 16

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press

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Santa Monica Daily Press

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Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Page 17

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To apply please email resume to richardoyama@verizon.net CASHIER FOR gas station. Customer service, friendly. Call for more information (310) 498-7910.

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GRAPHIC ARTIST/ designer for children’s furniture and accessory line web page. Contingency pay. Jonathan (310) 828-7594

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Real Estate Real Estate Loans Storage Space Vehicles for Sale Massage Services Computer Services Attorney Services

O&S HOLDINGS, LLC is in search of a Legal Assistant to fill a newly created position which reports directly to our General Counsel.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND REQUIRED ABILITIES: Excellent oral and written communication skills.

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Knowledge of Retail commercial property legal experience is preferred.

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O&S Holdings, LLC was founded by real estate developer Gary M. Safady and Kinko's founder, Paul J. Orfalea.

O&S Holdings, LLC is an equal opportunity employer offering competitive salary and benefit packages in a casual work environment.

Forward your resume in Word or Adobe format to rbrittany@osholdings.com.

Please specify "Legal assistant"/SMDP in the subject line.

Letters of recommendation are welcome.

PART-TIME CASHIER for a hardware store. Call Veronica at (310) 3951158.

PART-TIME COMPUTER trainer needed. 2 years experience working with youth. $15/hr. Johnny Ramirez (310) 396-7101, called2uplift@aol.com.

RADIO PUBLICITY promoter P/T 7am.

(310) 998-8305 ext. 82.

SALES SALES of cruise and tour packages.

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SANTA MONICA Plastics company is hiring f/t sales person, no plastics experience required, will train, good with math, call Ralph 310-829-3449 W.I. SIMONSON Mercedes Benz is seeking part-time service cashier.

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Page 18

â?‘

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 â?‘ Santa Monica Daily Press

CLASSIFIEDS For Rent

Houses For Rent

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FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAMES STATEMENT FILE NO. 05 2830959 FIRST FILING. The following person(s) is (are) doing business as Flying Tiger Promotions, AI #/ON 2420820, 3021 Airport Ave, 103A, Santa Monica, CA 90405. The full name of registrant(s) is/are : Spitfire Ventures, Inc., Nevada, 3021 Airport Ave, 103A, Santa Monica, CA 90405 This Business is being conducted by, a corporation. Signed: Registrant has not yet begun to transact business under the fictitious name or names listed herein.. /s/: Spitfire Ventures, Inc., President, Russ Colby This statement was filed with the County Clerk of LOS ANGELES County on 11/21/05. NOTICE: THIS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT EXPIRES FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED PRIOR TO THAT DATE. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name statement in violation of the rights of another under federal, state, or common law (see Section 14411et seq.,Business and Professions Code). SANTA MONICA DAILY PRESS to publish 11/22/2005, 11/29/2005, 12/6/2005, 12/13/2005

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DBAS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAMES STATEMENT FILE NO. 05 2830960 FIRST FILING. The following person(s) is (are) doing business as foxc productions, clintonfox.com, 1015 3rd Street, #2.

The full name of registrant(s) is/are : Clinton Fox, 1015 3rd Street, #2 This Business is being conducted by, an individual. Signed: The registrant commenced to transact business under the fictitious business name or names listed on (Date)5/1/2005. /s/: Clinton Fox This statement was filed with the County Clerk of LOS ANGELES County on 11/21/2005. NOTICE: THIS FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT EXPIRES FIVE YEARS FROM THE DATE IT WAS FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE COUNTY CLERK. A NEW FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT MUST BE FILED PRIOR TO THAT DATE. The filing of this statement does not of itself authorize the use in this state of a fictitious business name statement in violation of the rights of another under

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CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING CONDITIONS :REGULAR RATE: $3.50 a day. Ads over 15 words add 20¢ per word per day. Ad must run a minimum of twelve consecutive days. PREMIUMS: First two words caps no charge. Bold words, italics, centered lines, etc. cost extra. Please call for rates. TYPOS: Check your ad the first day of publication. Sorry, we do not issue credit after an ad has run more than once. DEADLINES: 4:00 p.m. prior the day of publication except for Monday’s paper when the deadline is Friday at 4:00 p.m. PAYMENT: All private party ads must be pre-paid. We accept checks, credit cards, and of course cash. CORRESPONDENCE: To place your ad call our offices 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, (310)458-7737; send a check or money order with ad copy to The Santa Monica Daily Press, P.O. Box 1380, Santa Monica, CA 90406 or stop in at our office located at 1427 Third Street Promenade, Ste. 202. OTHER RATES: For information about the professional services directory or classified display ads, please call our office at (310)458-7737.

Notice of Hearing on Petition Notice is given that on November 29, 2005 at 8:30 a.m. or as soon after that time as the matter may be heard, petitioner Ross Furukawa, will move for an order pursuant to Government Code §6008 adjudicating The Santa Monica Daily Press as a newspaper of general circulation for the County of Los Angeles. The hearing will be held in Department 64 of the Los Angeles Superior Court, 111 N. Hill Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. The Petition sets forth the following: 1. Petitioner, Ross Furukawa, is publisher of the newspaper known as The Santa Monica Daily Press, which is seeking adjudicated under Government Code §6008 as a newspaper of general circulation for the City of Santa Monica. 2.The Santa Monica Daily Press is published for the dissemination of local or telegraphic news and intelligence of a general character in the City of Santa Monica, California. The business address is 1427 Third St. Promenade, Suite 202, Santa Monica, CA 90401. 3. The Santa Monica Daily Press has a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers, and substantial distribution to subscribers numbering 1023 in the City of Santa Monica and surrounding areas for a total weekly distribution of approximately 20,000. 4. For more than three years preceding the filing of the petition, the petitioning newspaper has been established under the name of The Santa Monica Daily Press, and has been so established and published, that is, issued and sold or distributed regularly each day in the City of Santa Monica and the surrounding areas. 5. During each of the three-year period preceding the filing of this petition, the newspaper has maintained a minimum coverage of local news and intelligence of a general character of not less than twenty-five percent of its total inches; it has a principal office of publication located in the City of Santa Monica, County of Los Angeles.WHEREFORE, petitioner prays that The Santa Monica Daily Press be adjudicated pursuant to Government Code §6008 as a newspaper of general circulation for the City of Santa Monica, Santa Monica Judicial District, County of Los Angeles, State of California. DATED: November 5, 2005 Lisa Grace-Kellogg Attorney for Petitioner

Santa Monica Daily Press

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Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Page 19

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Page 20

❑

Tuesday, November 22, 2005 ❑ Santa Monica Daily Press

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

’Sopranos’ actor pleads guilty to attempted assault

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Big Pussy’s case is closed.

“Sopranos” actor Vincent Pastore pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to assault a former girlfriend last spring.

As part of the plea deal, Pastore will perform 70 hours of community service, attend six months of weekly anger management therapy and pay a $190 fine. If convicted at trial, he could have been sentenced to as much as a year in jail.

Pastore, 59, was accused of attacking Lisa Regina, 44, during an argument in Little Italy. Prosecutors said he punched her in the back of the head, grabbed her hair and forced her head down on a car’s gear shift.

When the judge asked Monday whether he attempted to strike Regina, Pastore replied, “Yes, I did.”

The actor, a Navy veteran, said he wanted to serve his community service at a Veterans Administration hospital in the Bronx neighborhood where he was born.

Pastore’s attorney Dominic Barbara said his client has been receiving anger management therapy for 10 months.

Pastore played gangster Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, who was killed early in the series as payback for snitching on the mob.

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — Vaclav Havel, the former Czech president, is planning to write a new play.

“I have it already well thought out,” the daily Pravo on Monday quoted Havel as saying. “In my head, it’s almost finished. There’s just one little thing — to write it down.”

Havel didn’t give any details, and he refused to say when he would start writing.

However, he has said he planned to write a play based on Shakespeare’s “King Lear,” as well as an auto-

biography.

Havel, 69, was a well-known dissident playwright when he led the 1989 revolution that peacefully toppled the communist regime in his country. He became leader of Czechoslovakia in December 1989.

He served as president from January 1993, after the country split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. His last term in office ended in February 2003.

Havel began publishing in the 1960s, and before becoming president, he published dozens of plays, books and political essays that won him critical acclaim around the world.

NEW YORK — Bono says he’d rather be remembered for his music than for his activism.

A dedicated lobbyist for the world’s poor and AIDSstricken, the U2 frontman told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that “I think my work — the activism — will be forgotten.”

“And I hope it will. Because I hope those problems will have gone away,” he said in an interview that aired Sunday.

Since 1999, Bono has helped persuade Republicans and Democrats, presidents and lawmakers, to provide millions of dollars to help end the scourge of AIDS, eliminate poverty in Africa and forgive Third World debt.

The Irish rocker also predicted that his music will still be around in 100 years, explaining that his songs occupy “an emotional terrain that didn’t exist before our group did.”

Bono noted that people in rock ‘n’ roll burn out at 40, and said he wanted to see if his band could continue making “extraordinary” music.

“You know I’m still hungry,” said the 45-year-old Grammy winner. “I still want a lot out of music.”

HALEIWA, Hawaii — Bethany Hamilton, the teen

surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack two years ago, said she’s finally getting attention for catching waves.

"A lot of people don’t really think I can surf, but I like to show them what I can do,” Hamilton, 15, said after braving the pounding surf. “It definitely makes me known as a surfer.”

She lost her qualifying heat in the Roxy Pro women’s surfing competition Friday, behind Honolulu’s Carissa Moore, but ahead of two other experienced surfers.

Hamilton was happy with her performance as she glided through 12-foot waves, scoring 12.93 out of a possible 20 points, just short of Moore’s 14 points.

She has been surfing competitively since she was 11.

In 2003, she lost her left arm in a shark attack off Kauai, Hawaii.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Terry Gilliam’s love for the quirky and surreal earned him the Stockholm Visionary Award, but his work in the entertainment business hasn’t always been enjoyable.

“I never thought it was fun,” Gilliam said. “I just thought it was a hard job. And I wish I wasn’t obsessed with making movies, then I could have a happier life.”

He was awarded the prize Saturday at the city’s annual film festival.

The jury cited Gilliam’s decades of “unique inventiveness,” from the absurd animations between “Monty Python” TV skits to directing movies such as “Time Bandits,” “Brazil” and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”

Since he left the Monty Python comedy group, Gilliam’s career has included a list of hit movies — but also some battles with studios and financial backers.

His 2005 film “The Brothers Grimm” was on hold for a year because of dispute between Gilliam and producer Bob Weinstein. The two went head-to-head over the final shape of the work.

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